Six years ago today my life changed for the better. My identity was redefined and I became a new kind of person. Six years ago today my oldest daughter was born and never before had I felt the kind of love that I now enjoy everyday of my life. Grateful doesn’t even begin to explain how I feel about being a Mom.

So we celebrated! My girls and I got all dolled up and headed down to The American Girl store to have a day of sweetness and suspended disbelief. They each brought their treasured doll along (all four of them in matching outfits) and we treated them to a day of beauty, shopping and fancy dining. Oh yeah, we totally did. We made hair appointments for the dolls, bought matching pajamas for my girls and their dolls and had dinner in the cafe where they have highchairs and table settings for the dolls. It was ridiculously indulgent and my girls were so happy it looked like their cheeks may have been sore from smiling so much. That store is genius. The level of cuteness and happiness was off the charts and that’s a Mom-win.

While I was there, I began to notice the messages that were not-so-subtly being shared. I looked around at the displays of historical dolls positioned in installations of inspiration and noticed how empowering this experience can be for little girls. Written all over the walls were words of wisdom and historical significance such as….

‘Today I’ll use my heart to heal others’

‘Hope keeps my chin up. Family keeps my heart strong.’

‘Good friends are worth more than anything money can buy.’

‘Women fight for the right to vote’

‘Celebrating girls of yesterday and tomorrow’

Between these lovely messages,the dolls arranged in scenes of positive connotation, and the priceless hours of imaginative play that I knew would be born from this experience, I felt like I was in Mom heaven!

And as we left the store, I rode down the escalator with a daughter on each side of me and passed a huge message on the wall that read:

Shine.

Imagine.

Explore.

You can do anything!

When I read it aloud to my girls, I felt like this day had been as much of a gift to me as it was to my daughter for her birthday. I’m grateful that I can give my dolls a day of fun and insight that establishes a hopeful outlook and continued playful fantasy well after we bring our treasures home. What a wonderful gift.

Like this:

Today is my birthday and I decided to take a look at my horoscope to see what the coming year will bring! What I found was amazingly in tune with what I am hoping for and a resounding affirmation that I am on the right path. What a wonderful birthday gift I have given myself, a few quiet minutes of indulgence today was, as it turns out, just what I needed for my birthday.

The stars assure me that I can trust my heart more than I believe and I should learn to have full trust in my developing intuition. I am at some sort of a turning point in my life in terms of personal growth and I’m on a new journey that has come out of a strong drive to get involved in something completely different. When I read that a complete change of career was involved and an adventure in unchartered territory was in motion, I knew I was headed in the right direction! This is exactly what has been happening to me.

I’m in for a year of big ideas and big plans, new ideas and good, solid communication. I am going to be enthusiastic about my ideas and magically very capable of expressing myself verbally and in written form. Now is the time to make long-range plans including those for publishing a project. I should step back and see the big picture and decide what is really important to me.

I was happy to learn that my social life will be rewarding and pleasantly busy, so if you’ve been thinking we should get together this is the year to give me a call. I will be asked to speak publicly and enjoy new channels of communication!

I am thrilled to hear that my dreams that have seemed far off will now seem more realizable and I will be identified as a leader in my field!

I put this out into the universe in hopes that it will all come true and as a way to look back and compare what has happened next year to what the stars have told me will likely be my path for the year to come. What better confirmation do I need than the stars in the beautiful sky letting me know that it’s all going to be ok and that this is the start of a wonderful year? I’ll take it.